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No. 1 player Harry Giles III adjusting to online courses back home after ACL tear

Harry Giles III is back home taking online courses to finish his senior year. (Photo: Kelly Kline/UA)

Harry Giles III is back home taking online courses to finish his senior year. (Photo: Kelly Kline/UA)

When Harry Giles III partially tore the ACL in his right knee during his season-opening debut with Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) on Nov. 3, he knew that, on the most basic level, “a lot of things were gonna be different.”

The biggest change, aside from the grueling rehab he undergoes three times a week at Duke, has been in the classroom.

Roughly three weeks ago, Giles, who is ranked No. 1 overall in the ESPN 100, returned home and now takes classes online at Forest Trail Academy (Kernersville, N.C.).

RELATED: Harry Giles III picks Duke

“It’s about a 15-minute drive to the school from Winston Salem where I live,” said Giles, a Duke signee. “I am taking six subjects and I login and get to work five days a week. It’s definitely a lot different because you have to be self-motivated. We have tutors and there are people there to help, but I’m settling into it pretty well. It’s just another adjustment to a situation that I wasn’t planning for.”

Giles certainly has experience in that regard; he missed the entire 2013-14 season recovering from ACL, MCL and meniscus tears he suffered in his left knee while playing with USA Basketball in June 2013.

“I’ve been here before,” Giles said. “It’s tough, but having already been through this makes the adjustments easier. I’ll bounce back; I’m not worried about that.”

RELATED: Harry Giles III to miss senior season with ACL tear

Last season at Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), Giles averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds a game. He was the only underclassmen named to the American Family Insurance ALL-USA first team.

“I think the best part about the new school is the fact that I’m home,” Giles said. “It’s good to be around family and friends and the people that I grew up with. That helps keeps my spirits up. I hate that it had to be under these circumstances, but I just have to make the best of it. It was definitely hard to leave Oak Hill because that was a dream to play there. It was just better for my rehab to be back home. I’m really just focused on school and rehabbing to be ready at Duke next season.”

Follow Jason Jordan on Twitter: @JayJayUSATODAY

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